Successful businessman pens book on anxiety, panic and hope

Businessman and North Kingstown resident Brian Beneduce is the author of “Scared to Death… Do it Anyway! One Man’s Journey From Debilitating Fear to Happiness, Wealth and Success”. / COURTESY NANCY THOMAS/TAPESTRY COMMUNICATIONS
Businessman and North Kingstown resident Brian Beneduce is the author of “Scared to Death… Do it Anyway! One Man’s Journey From Debilitating Fear to Happiness, Wealth and Success”. / COURTESY NANCY THOMAS/TAPESTRY COMMUNICATIONS

PROVIDENCE – Brian Beneduce is a man on a mission: “I want to put the drug business out of business,” he told Providence Business News in a recent phone interview. “That’s not going to happen, but the more people I can get off [anti-anxiety medications and antidepressants], the better.”

Despite having lived for many years with crippling agoraphobia and panic attacks, Beneduce, of North Kingstown, owns a highly successful packaging company, Ocean State Packaging. The company, which Beneduce started “out of his bedroom in 1991,” sells empty plastic bottles – at about 10 cents each – and has annual sales of more than $30 million, he said. Although he remains the company’s owner and president, he’s turned the day-to-day operations over to two partners, although not due to his agoraphobia.

Beneduce, who managed to conquer his fears and anxieties, after unsuccessful encounters with therapists and medications, had three reasons for writing his book, “Scared to Death… Do it Anyway! One Man’s Journey From Debilitating Fear to Happiness, Wealth and Success”: realization, education and inspiration.

On Tuesday, May 17, from 6-8 p.m., he will hold a book launch party at The Poliquin Group, 1598 South Country Trail, East Greenwich, which will be emceed by Barbara Morse Silva, a weekend anchor and health reporter for WJAR-TV NBC 10. At the free event, which includes appetizers and an open bar of wine and beer, Beneduce will talk about – but not read from – his book, which was co-authored by Steven Porter. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of the book, priced at $18, will be donated to Bradley Hospital’s Pediatric Anxiety Research Center and The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, said Beneduce, who spoke recently to some Bradley physicians about his healing process.

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First, people need to realize that anxiety or panic or whatever they choose to call those feelings are not going to kill them. “It took me 30 years to find that out,” he said. Beneduce, who feared relying on medications, came to rely instead on a “toolbox” of supports he developed.

His panic attacks sent him more than 20 times to the hospital, where he was consistently evaluated for cardiac problems. One nurse finally suggested that he might be responsible for those attacks, though the word “anxiety” was never mentioned, said Beneduce. That was the first step toward his slow slog to emotional health. By eventually recognizing that anxiety wouldn’t kill him, he began visualizing good, not bad, outcomes and “acting as if” he was calm. In cautioning others who live with anxiety, Beneduce said, “The longer you’ve suffered with this, the longer it’ll take to heal. Give yourself a break; don’t talk to yourself the way you’d never let anyone else talk to you.”

In his self-help book, Beneduce discloses many of his high-risk moments, such as precipitously running off planes or theme park rides, and the subsequent ramifications. By sharing these stories and disclosing his own vulnerabilities, Beneduce hopes readers will come to trust him and his approach to healing anxiety. “I was always pushing and testing [limits] and fighting myself, which just makes it worse,” said the upbeat and energetic Beneduce, who encourages others to let go of their unhealthy thoughts and adrenaline.

Finally, he hopes his story might inspire others, given his ability to run a highly successful company that has employed hundreds of individuals, even while he lived with that anxiety. “I’ve [finally] learned how to be comfortable in uncomfortable situations,” he said.

So many people, said Beneduce, mask their panic attacks and anxiety with alcohol or drugs – and that keeps them from getting to the root of the problem. Calling himself a “goal-oriented person,” Beneduce wants to be the nation’s leading speaker about anxiety, panic and hope, so he can help others experience lives as fulfilling as is his. To that end, Beneduce plans to open a Center for Anxiety, Panic and Hope, where he will hold workshops and give speeches

Today, in marked contrast to his younger years – when he rarely slept, broke down crying by the side of the road and was immobilized by “what if, what if” questions – his days are like everyone else’s. “I get up [and] have coffee with my wife; I come and go as I please. If I have anxiety, it’s extremely manageable and normal.”

RSVPs are requested for the free event: Visit brianbeneduce.com or nancy@brianbeneduce.com. The book is also available through Amazon, Kindle and Nook.

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